Wessex Water to be paid more than £1.1m for sewage upgrades at Firepool site in Taunton

Construction work on the northern boulevard within the Firepool site on Canal Road in Taunton
-Credit: (Image: Daniel Mumby)


Wessex Water is to be paid more than £1.1m to ensure that sewage upgrades are completed within the Firepool regeneration site in Taunton town centre. Somerset Council and its predecessors have been seeking to push on with the Firepool regeneration scheme, which will see the former cattle market site on Canal Road regenerated with a mixture of residential, commercial and cultural development.

Nearly £11m from the government's future high streets fund was allocated towards various elements of the regeneration scheme back in December 2020, with construction work under way on a new boulevard to provide a safe car-free route through the site between the railway station and the River Tone. The council has now confirmed that Wessex Water will be paid using part of this grant to undertake crucial work within the site, ensuring that sewage generated from any further development can be safely transported to the town's waste water treatment plant.

Richard Brown, an officer within the council's economic development team, confirmed the details of the project in a report published on the council's official website. He said in his written report: "On July 1, 2022, Somerset West and Taunton Council entered into an agreement for the major diversion of a critical sewer with Wessex Water.

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"Having made a payment of £600,000, Wessex Water undertook detailed design works and have produced a costed programme. In addition to the design fees, a further £1,177,920 is required to be paid in furtherance of the agreement to deliver the scheme."

Around £13.9m was originally allocated to Taunton from the future high streets fund, of which £10.7m was specifically allocated to the Firepool site. The remaining £3.2m has been split between completing the Coal Orchard regeneration scheme and delivering walking and cycling improvements to link Taunton railway station to Vivary Park via the town centre - including the recently-completed relocation of a pedestrian crossing over the A38 Upper High Street.

Artist's impression of the Firepool regeneration in Taunton town centre
Artist's impression of the Firepool regeneration in Taunton town centre -Credit:AHR Architects

While the government has given the council until late-March 2025 to spend the remaining grant funding, this was done on the condition that all contracts for the outstanding work had to be in place by September 30 - otherwise the remaining monies would have to be returned. Mr Brown said: "As this is critical infrastructure for the public sewage system, only Wessex Water can deliver the changes required.

"The work required to 'enable' the Firepool site will be paid for by the council entirely through external funding obtained through the future high streets fund. This is a key project in helping wider viability and therefore delivery of the Firepool master-plan.

"It is highly unlikely the private sector would be able to fund these works as part of the wider Firepool delivery." Wessex Water previously carried out extensive roadworks in the summer of 2023 to provide a new connection to the mains sewer from the Firepool site, with the A3038 Priory Bridge Road being closed between late-July and early-September.

While work on the northern boulevard is progressing well, Mr Brown said Wessex Water would need to carry out these latest improvements before the southern boulevard (including a new amphitheatre) could be successfully implemented. He said: "The sewage diversion must be delivered before the works on the southern boulevard take place.

"The area occupied by the boulevard and the wider Firepool site has on occasion provided space for anti-social behaviour - including vandalism, street drinking, drug abuse and drug dealing. By regenerating the site, this will deter those individuals from participating in the aforementioned activity, thus making the centre of Taunton a safer and more appealing place to visit.

"This will have a positive impact on the quality of life and general well-being of those residents in the vicinity of the site. The Wessex Water scheme will broadly enable the Firepool regeneration scheme outlined in the approved master-plan."

Construction work on the southern boulevard within the Firepool site in Taunton
Construction work on the southern boulevard within the Firepool site in Taunton

Wessex Water recently agreed to implement 'stretch permits' at its Taunton waste water treatment plant, which will allow additional homes to be delivered in and around the town (including on the Firepool site) by removing greater quantities of phosphates out of the water, preventing damage to the Somerset Levels and Moors.

In addition to the sewage upgrades and the new boulevard, work is expected to begin shortly on a new pedestrian and cycle bridge which will link the Firepool and Coal Orchard sites, after planning permission was granted by the council's planning committee west in mid-August.